episode_0031

Finally, the day the merchant would arrive.

Due to the extravagant festival and drinking held after a long time, the villagers clearly showed signs of exhaustion on their faces.

However, with a firm hope and belief that the village could become better, they began to move from dawn with energetic faces.

“Jazel! Do you need any daily necessities?”

Since it was the day the merchant arrived, Rai, too, seemed to have no intention of entering the Lime Forest today. He was wearing light outdoor clothes and organizing a list of items he needed on paper.

“First, I think I’ll need towels and new clothes.”

Since I had to live in this village now, I wrote down a list to replenish my new clothes and insufficient supplies.

“By the way, where’s Killua?”

Receiving the paper to write the item list from Rai, I asked him about Killua’s whereabouts.

Rai, instead, tilted his head and asked me back.

“I haven’t seen her yet?”

“Must be oversleeping. She drank a bit too much yesterday.”

Killua had drunk enough to pass out without realizing it, due to the alcohol being considerably stronger than expected.

She was probably awake by now, but it was clear she was suffering from a hangover and couldn’t get out of bed.

“I figured as much and prepared for it. If she drinks this with the medicine, her hangover will subside quickly.”

As if he had already prepared in advance, Rai handed me two herbal pills made by rolling herbs together, and warm water that seemed to be a decoction of herbs I didn’t recognize.

“Chew the pills thoroughly. If she swallows them with the medicine, her headache and heartburn will disappear quickly.”

“I’ll deliver it.”

Taking the medicine and pills he offered, I took his place while he was busy making the list.

As expected, Rai was a meticulous and capable man in many ways.

Compared to me, who could do nothing despite knowing she was suffering from a hangover, Rai was clearly someone Killua would find attractive enough.

“When Killua comes to, please make a list of items she needs and bring it to me!”

“Alright.”

Holding the pills and medicine I received from him, I headed to Killua’s room on the second floor.

Was she still curled up in bed? Even though I had arrived at her door, no sign of anyone could be felt inside.

“Killua-nim?”

I cautiously called her name and knocked on the door a couple of times.

But there was no reply from inside the room.

“I’m coming in.”

Carefully, I grasped the doorknob, twisted it open, and cautiously entered her room.

“Are you still sleeping? The sun is already high in the sky.”

As expected, she was stuck in bed, unable to move due to her hangover, letting out faint groans.

Seeing her suffering from a terrible hangover she was experiencing for the first time, I let out a bitter smile and approached her bedside, holding the pills and medicine Rai had prepared.

“Rai prepared this. If you take this, you’ll feel better soon.”

Was even the sunlight filtering through the window painful for her? I placed the pills and medicine Rai had prepared on her bedside table, then slowly pulled back the blanket that was covering her head to toe, intending to wake her up even if by force.

“Killua-nim…?”

Her condition under the blanket was more severe than I expected.

Her face was abnormally flushed at a glance, her breathing ragged, and cold sweat streamed down like rain.

Startled, I placed my hand on her red, flushed forehead.

“Ah, hot…!”

Her forehead was burning like a fireball.

“Ja… Jazel?”

Her body was burning hot, but she shivered her teeth as if feeling a terrible chill, calling my name with difficulty after I touched her forehead.

“Killua-nim! Are you alright?!”

Flustered by her abnormal state, I could only wander around in confusion, not knowing what to do.

“Co… cold…”

“H-here, at least drink this!”

At Killua’s words about being cold, I hastily handed her the medicine Rai had entrusted to me.

Fortunately, the medicine made from decocted herbs, though weak, held a warm soothing temperature.

As I offered the water, Killua, who had struggled to raise her upper body, stretched out her trembling hand toward the cup I was offering.

“Stay still!”

Unable to trust the water cup to her hands that trembled like an aspen leaf, I approached her, gently held her small head, and brought the cup directly to her lips.

“Ugh… ung…”

Perhaps she had no strength to resist or refuse, Killua leaned into my hand, slowly drinking the medicine from the cup as I carefully tilted it.

“That’s enough…”

Killua, who had taken sips of water like a bird, about half a mouthful, turned her head as if to say it was enough.

“Rai said this medicine is good for hangovers. Just drink it all!”

Worried about her condition, and unable to give her the pills, I decided to make her drink all of the medicine instead and brought the cup to her lips again.

“Rai did…?”

At the mention that Rai had prepared the medicine, Killua squeezed her eyes shut and struggled to drink the liquid flowing from the cup as I tilted it.

“You did well.”

After letting out a small cough and drinking every last drop of the medicine, Killua, seemingly out of strength to even sit up, slumped back onto the bed.

“Wait a moment! I’ll bring Rai!”

Her physical condition wasn’t just a simple hangover.

Unable to guess the cause of her suffering, I urgently ran to the first floor to call Rai, who had more medical knowledge than me.

“Rai!!”

Rai was still in the middle of the living room, sorting herbs hung on the wall and listing herbs that couldn’t be found in the Lime Forest.

“The pills and medicine were more effective than you thought, weren’t they?”

As if there was no doubt about the effectiveness of the pills and medicine he had prepared, Rai wore a confident smile.

“Killua’s condition is strange! I think there’s another problem!!”

“What?!”

At my urgent shout, Rai tossed aside the list and pen he was holding and hastily rushed up to the second floor, as if to check Killua’s condition with his own eyes.

“Killua!!”

As if truly concerned about her condition, Rai urgently pushed Killua’s door open and called her name.

“It’s Rai… Don’t worry. I’ll be fine soon.”

As Rai entered the room, Killua, as if to welcome him, tried to hide her pain and get up from the bed as if she was alright.

But she had no strength to get up at all, and with a painful sigh, she merely sank back onto the bed.

“Stay still.”

Rai approached Killua and, with a serious expression, felt her pulse.

He felt the heat on her forehead and leaned in slightly to check her breathing.

“Is she alright?”

Worried about Killua, I approached Rai, who was examining her, and asked about her condition.

But Rai’s face, still grave, showed no sign of relaxing.

Rai, who had been palpating her body here and there, swallowed dryly and carefully placed his hand on her injured shoulder.

“No…”

Soon, a despairing sigh escaped his lips.

“Why… what’s wrong, Rai?”

Had she heard Rai’s sigh in her faint consciousness?

Killua, holding onto the faint thread of her consciousness, gripped Rai’s hand, which was on her shoulder, with her left hand and asked why.

“No. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry. I’ll fix it right away.”

“Okay. I’ll trust you.”

At Rai’s confident reply, Killua managed a small, difficult smile.

Soon after, as if releasing the faint thread of consciousness she had been holding onto, she fell into a shallow sleep, breathing lightly.

“Rai.”

Feeling an unknown premonition, I called him in a voice quiet enough that Killua wouldn’t hear.

Rai then, without a word, gestured for me to come out of the room and led the way out of her room.

“Is her condition very bad?”

Following him out of Killua’s room, I firmly closed her door so that our conversation wouldn’t be heard by Killua inside, then asked about her condition.

“An infection has occurred inside the wound she sustained from the wolf. Furthermore, due to excessive drinking, her immunity dropped, causing the infection to progress rapidly.”

“So… her condition is very bad, right?”

With my shallow knowledge of medicine, I couldn’t fully understand his explanation.

However, judging by his serious tone and demeanor, I could be sure that Killua’s condition was by no means good.

“If left untreated, she could die.”

“What?!”

At Rai’s words that she could die, I realized that this situation was more serious than I could imagine.

“But there is a treatment method, right?! You said you’d fix it!”

“……”

At my question, Rai furrowed his brow as if it wasn’t an easy task and fell into deep thought.

“I’ll find a way, somehow.”

“Find a way?!”

It was hard to believe Rai’s words that he didn’t have a treatment method right now, but would start looking for one.

“Stay by Killua’s side. I’ll be back soon.”

However, in this situation, only Rai could help Killua.

As if he didn’t have time for a detailed explanation, he ended his words there, gathered a few simple belongings, and hurried down to the first floor.

“Damn it… a situation where she could die?!”

His words were unbelievable, but I knew better than anyone that Rai wasn’t someone who would speak nonsense.

“Killua-nim!”

Unable to just stand there idly, I entered her room and checked Killua’s condition.

She was still merely lying on the bed like a corpse, breathing faintly in a hazy state of consciousness.

“He definitely said… it was symptoms from an infection inside the wound, right?”

I couldn’t just stand there idly, doing nothing, with Killua suffering before me.

I hastily began to rummage through the bookshelf in her room.

Fortunately, the previous occupant of this room must have loved books, as the bookshelf in the room contained a variety of books.

“Found it!”

Of course, there were also books on basic medical practices and emergency procedures that could be used in critical situations.

I pulled out about four medical books from the shelf, sat by Killua’s bed, and opened the books I had brought.

“Symptoms caused by infection, methods to suppress high fever, herbs and folk remedies…”

In the urgency that Killua might die, I began to rummage through books I had never read before, except for when Killua had forced me to do magic training.